The Ashes 2023 LIVE: Latest cricket score as England chase wickets to avoid series defeat at the Oval
England vs Australia – fifth Test, day five
It’s dark and gloomy in Kennington, but dry, though we’ve a chance of a delayed start after some substantial overnight rain that has soaked the Oval outfield. The prospect of some more showers later will bring the draw into play – which Australia won’t mind as they seek to seal a first series win on English soil in 22 years.
England vs Australia – fifth Test, day five
Here we are, then – one last, decisive day as we reach the end of our Ashes joyride. It’s been glorious fun over these last few weeks, this enthralling series ever unpredictable, but today’s equation is simple: England need ten wickets, Australia need 249 runs – and the rain needs to hold off…
England vs Australia
Usman Khawaja and David Warner’s opening wicket stand of 135* is the first 100+ partnership for Australia in England since Warner and Chris Rogers managed 110 at The Oval on 20 August 2015.
It could be a deciding stand that determines whether Australia win a first series here since 2001.
Stuart Broad, England’s highest Ashes wicket-taker, announces retirement from cricket
Stuart Broad has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket when the fifth and final Ashes Test Match comes to a close. He made the decision last night after thinking about calling time on his career for ‘a few weeks’.
The 37-year-old has 602 wickets in 167 Tests, making him the second most successful paceman in Test history behind team-mate James Anderson.
“Tomorrow or Monday will be my last day of cricket, it has been a wonderful ride, a huge privilege to wear the Nottinghamshire and England badge as much as I have and I am loving cricket as much as I ever have,” Broad told Ian Ward on Sky Sports at the close of day three.
England’s Ashes king Stuart Broad announces retirement from cricket
The England bowler will retire at the end of the Ashes series
Broad’s Ashes?
Stuart Broad has already confirmed he will retire but he is not the only player set to bring their Ashes career to an end on Monday.
David Warner will bow out in January and is 32 runs shy of signing off here with a first hundred in England while Moeen Ali signalled earlier this summer he would go back into red-ball retirement.
The next Ashes is more than two years away and it looks a tall order for 41-year-old James Anderson to feature while Mark Wood, 33, may even struggle and doubts have to be cast over Ben Stokes given his ongoing knee concerns.
Australia’s XI includes several players over 30, with Steve Smith (34), Usman Khawaja (36), Josh Hazlewood (32) and Mitchell Starc (33) unlikely to grace these shores again.
It all contributes to the end-of-an-era feel surrounding day five but with 20 wickets in this series and this ground the scene of his first big Ashes moment in 2009, you would not bet against Broad producing a fairy-tale finish.
Khawaja kicks Crawley off top spot
No two batters have better highlighted the culture clash between the teams than Usman Khawaja and Zak Crawley, who will end the series as numbers one and two in the run-scoring charts.
Crawley’s classy 73 on day three took his overall tally to 480 runs and left Khawaja with a 57-run target to pip him to the top spot, which he managed in stoic fashion on Sunday and the Australian opener walked off unbeaten on 69.
While Khawaja is seven runs shy of the 500-mark, the eye-catching difference between the duo is the number of balls faced. Crawley needed 541 deliveries to score his tally at a strike rate of 88.72. In contrast Khawaja has taken 1,248 balls with a strike rate of 39.50 to demonstrate the different methods adopted by the teams this summer.
England vs Australia
After the testimonial vibes of Stuart Broad’s standing ovation and guard of honour, a bizarre opening passage of play occurred on the fourth from Mitchell Starc’s opening over with singles turned down during the first five balls.
It was quickly forgotten when Starc’s final delivery was short and Broad latched onto it with a swashbuckling pull for six over square leg.
James Anderson was then trapped lbw by Todd Murphy in the next over, which meant Broad’s maximum was the final ball he faced in cricket.
Some way to go out.
View from the dressing room
England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick spoke about today’s play saying: “If there was one more fairy tale left it would be ideal if it was Stuart’s last five-fer, one to win or two to win and he runs in and gets his last five-fer.
“Something like that would be brilliant wouldn’t it?”
England may prefer for Australia not to get their target down to single figures but Broad will be dreaming of a leading character role.
Australia need 249 more runs to pull off victory and claim a 3-1 series win, but their pursuit of 384 would represent the second highest Test chase in this country. It is geared up to be another thriller.
Monday’s weather watch
The BBC forecast reading: “Monday looks to see further showers during the early morning, but these are set to be light. As the day progresses, these will tend to clear away, and sunshine will widely develop.”
The Met Office suggests London will be hit by 16-32mm/hour of rain from 4:30pm, but by 5pm it says there will be less than 0.5 mm/hour of rain.
The Met Office forecast reads: “Further rain overnight persisting widely until Monday afternoon. Then sunny spells and showers. Remaining blustery. Maximum temperature 23 °C.”
The only times there is more than a 10 percent chance of rain on Monday, according to the Met Office, is at 10am (50 percent) and 3pm (40 percent), respectively.
AccuWeather says there is just a 40 percent chance of rain from 5pm and 34 percent chance of rain from 6pm. AccuWeather’s forecast for Monday shows a 25 percent chance of rain throughout the morning and afternoon overall.
But AccuWeather’s hourly forecast for Monday has a seven percent chance of rain or less for each hour during the day’s scheduled play.
Stuart Broad and England left frustrated — but Australia stand reveals Ashes lesson
Stuart Broad offered a grin and a wink to his old partner James Anderson after a towering six off Mitchell Starc provoked a roar from the Oval crowd. England’s most prolific Ashes bowler was revelling in his role with the bat: an entertainer foremost, then a legendary English cricketer.
Broad left English cricket reeling with his shock announcement to retire on Saturday evening, confirming his intent to bring the curtain down on a magnificent career packed with 600 Test wickets. The stage was set for the swashbuckling quick to inspire victory in the fifth Test and secure a 2-2 draw from what has been a gripping, fiercely competitive series.
Broad has always relished tormenting his opponents, yet day four’s script was gleefully chewed up and spat out by old foe David Warner, who has represented 15 of his 150 Ashes victims. The party atmosphere fizzled out with every diligently-played ball from Warner and teammate Usman Khawaja, who combined for their largest partnership of the series – concluding play at 135-0 before the covers came on at 2:42pm, and the rain prevented any more action.
By Jack Rathborn at The Oval:
Stuart Broad and England left frustrated – but Australia stand reveals Ashes lesson
Ben Stokes’s side require 10 wickets to secure a draw, while Australia are 249 runs away from a 3-1 series victory
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